Paperweight
by sakunade
Summary: Love is a force on this earth that cannot be stopped, not even by time, or by circumstances that may deter it from becoming one of the most wonderful feelings a person could ever feel. [Kataang] Updated wchapter 5!
1. set 1: reincarnation

**Author's Notes:** This one came out of nowhere. I'm on a roll with the Kataang stuff aren't I? Blah blah, I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Blahblah. I think I'll add this one as the beginning to this "Kataang: Balancing each other" fic set I had in mind. Kind of like, a set of drabbles based on the idea that Katara and Aang balance out each other. This one deals with reincarnation, which is the beginning.

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**set 1: **reincarnation

(love so alike)

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She stops and listens to everything around her. It all comes into a symphony unheard, and she takes a deep breath as if listening attentively. Her gaze wanders towards Aang as she thinks of better days. On days when nothing stood on their way, and the only thing that mattered was if they had enough food to eat that day. However, everything seemed so complicated and dizzy than before. Happiness was drowning in fear and strife to survive their on coming encounter with the Fire Lord.

Katara tosses and turns on her sleeping mat, wondering why things ended up the way they did. Aang was in a stake of fear and panic, Sokka was trying to drone out his fear through sarcasm, and Toph hasn't said a word in days (which is quite rare considering how loud the girl was about everything and everyone around her). Their newest member, Zuko's uncle Iroh, usually tried his best to help the gang settle their fears and insecurities, but he could only do so much.

She was always the voice of reason and the glue that held them together. Katara made it her mission to get her friends back into their usual state of moods, but she was afraid as well. Just because she wanted to save the world didn't mean she wasn't scared. She doesn't know or ever heard of a human being scared of doing something that could cost them their lives. Her father told it best, and told his daughter that even warriors are afraid of battle, but the bravest ones fight no matter what.

Still, she wasn't only scared for her own survival but for her friends and brother too. She almost lost Aang once before at the hands of Azula back in Ba Sing Se, and thinking about it now made her insides toss and turn. Aang is the Avatar, and at first he seemed like this untouchable being. (She knows better than anyone how false that statement was) When she saw him fall, she felt herself fall along with him. Her heart still feels heavy thinking about it, and thanked the spirits everyday that she was able to save him in time.

She remembers the day her own mother stepped in front of the Fire Nation army to save their father. (Her mother was the greatest water bender she'd ever seen, and she watched her mother use her water bending techniques to stop the Fire Nation from destroying their home). He regrets it more than her how unable he was to save her that day, and Katara wonders why her mother risked her life like that to save their father. She was young, and she didn't know the complexity of the idea, but her father told his children that their mother did it out of love.

_"Love..."_ she whispers to herself into the night, turning to her side as she tried to go back to sleep. Even now at her age she couldn't understand it. Gran Gran used to tell her that one day Katara will understand the word and what everything meant. She was already fifteen years old, and most women in her tribe married by the age of sixteen. If she doesn't know it now, then when will she know?

_Calm down Katara, you're thinking too much into something you shouldn't really be thinking of._

It was normal for a girl her age to try and understand everything around her, along with things that dealt with love and guys in general. It wasn't a selfish thought, but Katara couldn't help but feel selfish at the thought. The world needs her right now, and she doesn't have the time to think about love or guys.

She takes a heavy breath, before closing her eyes in attempts to fall asleep. She doesn't know if what she dreamed next really happened, because it seemed surreal at the time. When she thinks back on her dream, she wonders if the spirits were giving her some sort of sign.

In her dream, she was stuck in a room filled with nothing but darkness. She runs around looking for a way out, and then she notices a line that leads to the north. She follows the line, and it seemed like an endless adventure until she found herself looking up and seeing a ball of light right above her. She reaches her hands towards the sky, trying to touch the light but before she could it disappeared.

Then, the line begins to trail down another path, only this time it leads east. She follows and follows until once again she finds the same ball of light from before. The only thing this time was that it was bigger. She reaches to touch the light, and gains victory in doing so.

The next thing she remembers were flashes of lives she's never seen or heard about before. They flash right before her eyes like a bright variety of colors. (They consist of blue, green, red and orange) She couldn't make out the faces, but something about the lives and the flashes of color felt so familiar to her.

When she wakes up, the first person she sees is Aang sleeping on her left. Whatever he was dreaming really made him happy. It was the first time in awhile she's seen Aang with a smile on his face. She smiles, and before she knows it that familiar feeling sprung up again. Her heart was beating faster, and for some odd reason she could hear his heart beating too.

When her hand hovered over his, she felt her whole body tense up and feel nervous. She didn't know why she was feeling this way, but for whatever reason it was, it had to be something out of this world. Without knowing, she lets her hand fall on top of his gently, before slowly drifting back to sleep.

"I'll always be with you, in this life and the next..."


	2. set 2: confession

**Disclaimer:** Avatar: The Last Airbender does not belong to me. It belongs to the two geniuses Mike & Bryan whom I worship the ground they walk on. Keep the dream alive guys.**  
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**set 2: confession**

(_if I could take away the pain you feel, I would)_**  
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She reaches out and touches him; first she touches his hands, which were once soft but now rough and calloused due to age and countless battles. Her fingers slowly dance across the back of his hand, and she felt him shiver beneath her touch. She held on to his hand, fingers locking with his before raising the back of his hand towards her lips. She leaves a gentle kiss, and a foreshadowing of many more to come. 

All Aang could do was smile. If he could touch her the way she was now to him he would. However, he was grounded to the earth by the vast injuries placed upon him. Katara had a few injuries, but Aang thanked the spirits that the injuries she received were nothing compared to his. He'd rather take all the pain and carry as many scars as he could to insure that her beautiful skin wouldn't have to suffer.

The battle with the Fire Lord was immense; Aang gave it all he had, while Katara and the others fought on the sidelines. It all felt and seemed like a blur, but the reality of what happened between their companions was burned deep within them. It felt like a permanent scar, a mark of the test they had just taken, and won.

He had the chance to tell her his feelings, but refused to do so. He wanted to tell her so very much just how much he loved her. He loved everything about her, from the way she bickered to the way she smiled. There was nothing that he didn't like about her, and he felt so hopelessly devoted and tied to her that he was afraid of what would have happened if he didn't live. Spirits forbid if he wasn't allowed another precious moment with her like this, and before the final battle he believed he would never have another chance with her again.

Katara was unsure of her feelings for Aang, but they became clearer and clearer whenever she was apart from him. She could survive on her own, with her friends and family supporting her, but she often felt envious of other spirits who could come and go as they please. Aang was able to live a thousand times more, while Katara could only live now. She felt selfish and vile thinking such things, wanting to be with Aang forever and always by his side.

And even though Aang was the same spirit in another body, she knew his heart could never be taken by another.

They both knew that they've gone through so much in such a short amount of time. What scared them the most was how attached and devoted they grew to one another. Aang looks at Katara as his gift, but as well as his curse. Katara looks at Aang as her hope, and not only the world's hero, but her own. Taking his hand with her own, she rubbed the back of it with her cheek, a tear slipping down from her eyes.

He tells her he loves her, and she says that she's always known. She told him, actions speak louder than words, and his actions spoke louder than anyone else's could.

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**A/N:** Hope you guys liked it. I'm working on a "Holiday" themed Kataang drabble. It's about how the Water Tribes celebrate the relationship between Tui & La, and how there's a legend saying that lovers who confess their love on that day that they'll always be together forever, like Tui & La. Btw, thanks to those who reviewed! I hope to upload some more by this week or the next.  



	3. set 3: seperation

**set 3:** seperation

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Whenever he has the time he thinks of her, and all thoughts of peace treaties or conferences leave his mind. It's been years since he defeated Fire Lord Ozai and brought balance back to the world. Ever since then Aang's been busy going from nation to nation, making sure that the nations were getting along. His friends have all long and gone now. Sokka and Katara left to go to the southern Water Tribe to help Pakku and the other water benders. Toph went back to her family and confessed that she left to the travel with the Avatar on his journey. Her parents accepted and she finally got the freedom she wanted. The last he heard of her, she was hosting an earth bending tournament and giving lessons in Master Yu's school.

Zuko became the Fire Lord after his father passed away, and Azula was locked up in the fire nation dungeons below the royal palace. Iroh helped from time to time, but was usually busy running his own tea shop. Mai and Ty Lee were pardoned for their crimes against the Avatar, and are now living their separate lives. Ty lee rejoined the circus, while Mai can be seen walking around the palace. The nature of her and Zuko's relationship was unknown, but many inside the palace (and those who visited from time to time) believed that there was something much more going on between the two.

Many years have passed and it isn't until now that Aang realizes how much. He hasn't had the time to really think and have moments for himself. He was exhausted, and was finally given the opportunity to relax. He was older now, experienced and wiser than before. His arms and legs were longer, his face carved by age, but on rare occasions he was still the same goofy air bending kid from the Southern Air Temple.

Fumbling around in his pockets, he takes out a necklace. It was the same necklace he made for Katara a few years ago, before they met Aunt Wu. She stopped wearing it a couple days later, and gave it to Aang as a reminder the day she left to her tribe. Many nights he spent thinking about her, wondering if she was alright, if she was thinking about him like he was with her. Throughout all the years, did her feelings for him change? Did she still love him like she said she did before?

It was unbearable being apart from her this way. He knew she had duties to her people, to her tribe, and he couldn't stop her from leaving. He felt hollow and weak without her by his side, and wonders how long this will last. Clutching the necklace tighter within his palm, he thinks of days spent with water bending practices and awkward moments. He thinks of days when he felt complete and filled with happiness, and not as unstable or imbalanced as he was feeling now.

He grabs his cup of water, and drinks it with curiosity in hopes of finding her somehow this way.

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**Author's Notes:** A small note about this one, I had to change it because of the recent chapter. Either way, it's still pretty good so, yeah! Enjoy! 


	4. set 4: dance

**Disclaimer:** Avatar: The Last Airbender does not belong to me. It belongs to Mike & Bryan. Okay? Okay!

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**set 4: **dance

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Katara took all of her belongings into the ship, getting ready for the long journey ahead of her. Her brother Sokka was finishing up loading a few stocks here and there, which were supplies that was given to them by the new Fire Lord, Zuko. It's been a long time since the two water tribe siblings saw their home, and even though they should've been excited to see it again, they couldn't help but wonder what will become of their friends. Toph already left a couple of days ago back to Gaoling to her parents, and only Aang was left behind in the Fire Nation to prepare for a peace treaty.

"Katara, are you alright?" Sokka asked her, watching his baby sister look out into the horizon with a sad expression on her face.

She sighed, and then turned back to her older brother. "I'm alright Sokka." Wrapping her arms around herself, she continued to glance back to the horizon. "It's just that, it's been so long since we've been home and..."

"It's about Aang, isn't it?"

Katara nodded, "Once we leave back to the South Pole, who knows how long it'll be until we're able to see each other again."

Sokka placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, supporting her like a big brother should in his sister's time of need. "I'm sure we'll be able to see him again sooner than you think, Katara. Just don't think about it, and the time will pass faster."

"I hope you're right..."

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"So, you're leaving tomorrow in the morning then?"

She nodded. "It'll take a while to get to the South Pole, but I'm sure we'll be fine."

Aang didn't say a word; he just stood there and took in all that Katara had just told him. She was going to leave to go back to the South Pole to help with the rebuilding of her tribe, and possibly wouldn't be back for a long time.

He wished it didn't hurt as much to know that she was leaving and that he probably wouldn't be able to see her for a long time.

"I'll...miss you." He finally said, breaking the silence between the two.

"I'll miss you too, Aang." She told him breathlessly, before approaching him and embracing him in a tight hug. "I'll think of you everyday, and I hope to see you again someday soon."

Aang hugged her back, holding on tight as if hoping she'd never leave his side if he just held on to her tightly. "I'll think of you every second, every minute, every day of my life until I get to see you and hold you in my arms again, Katara."

She smiled, and then gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek before turning around to leave.

He quickly reached out to hold her hand, beckoning her to stop and turn back around. When she did, he quickly approached her and gave her a fast kiss on the lips.

"I love you!"

"Aang..."

"I-I love you more than anything! I've always loved you Katara. Ever since I first met you when you freed me from the iceberg, I knew right then and there that you were the girl I wanted to be with." He took her hand, and held on to it tightly. "I know you can't stay here with me, and it'd be really selfish of me to say so, but I can't help but feel like telling you to stay."

"A-Aang, listen to me..."

"It's okay if you don't feel the same for me, because as long as you're happy then I'm happy..." he choked back a few words he wanted to say, but decided against it incase he jinxed himself somehow.

It didn't seem like he was going to listen to her no matter what she said, so she decided to get his attention in the only possible way she knew she could. She grabbed Aang by the collar of his robes, and kissed him.

He kissed back, moving his lips against hers, until he felt he was flying across the skies on Appa again. When they broke apart, she smiled, giving him another kiss on the cheek.

"I love you." She whispered, giving him another embrace. "I realized I loved you when I saw you fall after Azula struck you with lightning. I felt sad, upset, angry and hurt. I was afraid of losing you forever, and I almost did that day. That's when I knew that what I felt for you was stronger than anything I've ever felt."

"I'll never leave your side Katara," Aang whispered, burying his face in her shoulder. "Even if we're parted for as long as time can try to keep us apart, I'll always be there by your side."

"Promise me you'll never forget about me, Aang."

"I promise."

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Many years have past since the last time Katara saw Aang. When she arrived home, she thought the rebuilding of her tribe would keep her busy enough for time to pass by faster. To her dismay, it didn't. The hours felt longer than ever, and the days dragged on for what seemed like months on end. The years were worst, because they've felt like an eternity.

The Southern Water Tribe was now established back to its original state before the Fire Nation attacks a few years ago. There were buildings, bridges, and many other architectural feats.

Everyone around her was happy to be alive, and to be free from the Fire Nation's rule and terror. They welcomed Sokka and Katara as heroes, along with their father and the other brave water tribe soldiers who bravely fought for their nation.

Katara couldn't help but feel happy and upset at the same time. She was happy to be back home, and to see her people finally happy and at peace. She felt upset because she wonders how long she'll have to feel incomplete without Aang by her side. She's never been apart from him for this long, and during the times she was seperated from him, she felt lost without him.

She still thinks about him everyday, and wonders what he's doing now. She's heard rumors of the peace treaties and conferences going around all over the world. Sometimes she wishes to the spirits to see him again, because she's not sure when he'll be able to see her.

Its times like that when she feels the most selfish. The Avatar belongs to the world, and not to one person. When she feels guilty for feeling selfish, she reminds herself that she doesn't want to belong to the Avatar, but to _Aang_.

Whenever she's alone, she sits by the middle of the bridge and watches the clouds dance across the sky. She remembers days spent in training, fighting, running, and being around one another. She misses her friends, her old life, and the adventures they've all shared long ago.

Most of all, she misses feeling alive soaring through the skies and sitting beside the legend that captured her heart, in this life and for as long as her spirit exists.

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**Author's Notes: **Awwwh, I have a love/hate relationship with this chapter, but either way it came out nice. Now comes the interesting part! Remember the holiday story I told you guys about? I'm going to include it into this series, and it's how Katara and Aang are going to meet up again. "Destiny is a funny thing!" indeed, huh? Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'm not sure how long this is gonna go for, but it won't go on forever. I'm thinking of reaching up to 10 and then ending it. What do you guys think? 


	5. set 5: prelude

_Finally moving this story along! I decided it would've been alright if I wrote a prelude to the Water Tribe Festival chapter, because I didn't really know how to write the Festivities chapter, and came out writing this one during my trial. After the other two chapters coming up, that will be the end of this little arc. Then, I will move on to a new arc! Cackle_

_Don't own, don't sue plz. Enjoy!  
_

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**set 5: **prelude

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The years have gone and went, along with the seasons and the old aftermaths of the war. Things were different nowadays, and everyone was living under their own peaceful and united rules. There were still a few problems every now and then from rebels or close civil wars breaking out but thank the spirits that most of those days are over. The Four Nations were finally living in a Golden Era, and it was a time that everyone enjoyed and prospered from. Aang had spent most of his teenage years trying to bring back peace and harmony, and now that he had finally accomplished (or, gotten close to it anyway) his goal, everything seemed to fall into place. Except, that is, for the fact that he hadn't seen his friends in a long time. Last he heard of Toph, she was somewhere in the Earth Kingdom. Sokka was now the elected Chieftain of his tribe and Katara was still serving as the ambassador for the Water Tribes. He thought he would meet her during civil meetings but their work kept distancing them.

He still remembers how deep and blue her eyes looked like, how long her brown hair flowed and how great she was at water bending. He still remembers her laughter, her smile, her grin: everything. There were a few things fuzzy and blurry here and there, mainly because he doesn't really know what she looks like now, but he knows that she probably still looks as beautiful as she was before.

Now though, since he had some free time on his hands, he decided that he definitely wanted to see his friends and that it's been too long. As much as he enjoyed the company of his old friends, he didn't want to stick around in the Fire Nation for too long. He was packing his things for the long journey ahead of him when Iroh knocked on the door. "Come in!"

In came General Iroh, now consult to Fire Lord Zuko. He was still the plump but loveable old man that he had known throughout his journey, and he was a great help to not only himself, but to Zuko, and his country. "I see you're packing, I was about to ask you if you'd like to play a game of Pai Sho with me, but since you're leaving I guess that's out of the question." He laughed.

"I'm sorry, but I really want to see Katara, Sokka and Toph. It's been ages since I've seen them."

"Oh it's fine; I have no qualms about that. You've been separated from your friends for long enough. I do not wish to separate you from them any longer." He smiled, and then bowed to Aang whom bowed back in return. "Besides, I know how much you want to see that young woman. The water tribe girl, right?"

He nodded. It was no secret what his feelings for Katara were and Aang had spent many days and nights talking to the retired general about his feelings for her. The advice he had given him had helped him a lot, helped him overcome his sense of loneliness without her, and for that he will always be eternally grateful to him.

"Ah, I see I see. Speaking of which, I heard some interesting news that you might like to hear!" The old man took out a folded parchment from under his sleeves and handed it to Aang. "You see, I had just received this and was actually going to discuss it with you during our game of Pai Sho."

Aang opened the parchment and read what was inside. "Festivities in the Northern Water Tribe…celebrating the spirits of the Ocean and the Moon, Tui and La…" His heart jumped and his face turned red in seconds. "Wait, if they're hosting festivities for the spirits, then that means…"

That meant that, most likely, his friends would be there.

"Interesting turn of events, huh?" Iroh grinned and then winked at the young Avatar, nudging him in the ribs gently. "Zuko can't go because of meetings, so he asked me to go in his stead. Would you like to go with me?"

"Of course!" his heart was pounding loud in his eardrums and all of a sudden, memories of his friends sprung into his mind. Memories of Toph and Sokka and of Katara too…

"Finish gathering your belongings, we leave tomorrow night." he told him. "There's no doubt in my mind that your friends will be there, so not only will you enjoy the festivities, but a reunion as well." And with that, he left Aang's room, closing the door behind and went on his merry way.

Aang couldn't believe it. In only a short amount of days he'll see his friends again, he'll see _her _again, after so many long years of being separated! He finished packing all of his belongings and then lay down on his bed, arms tucked behind his head as he gazed up at the ceiling, trying to paint pictures of his comrades and how they looked like now.


End file.
